SIU reopens probe into G20 arrest

As controversy mounts over the Toronto police chief’s response to accusations of excessive force at the G20 summit, Ontario’s police watchdog is reopening its investigation into the case of a young man allegedly assaulted by authorities.

In now-infamous video footage posted to YouTube, 27-year-old Adam Nobody is shown being tackled and punched by police during a summit protest at Queen’s Park. The provincial Special Investigations Unit last week cited a “probable excessive use of force” by police, but could not identify the perpetrator.

Chief Bill Blair hit back on Monday, lambasting the agency for referencing the YouTube video, which he said had clearly “been tampered with” — edited to remove material relevant to the police reaction.A day later, after receiving a sworn affidavit from John Bridge, who filmed and posted the video to YouTube, the SIU responded by reopening its probe into Mr. Nobody’s case.

“I will be asking Chief Blair to provide the SIU with any further relevant information he has with respect to this incident, and more specifically any forensic evidence in his possession regarding the allegation of tampering with the videotape,” SIU director Ian Scott said.

In Mr. Bridge’s three-page affidavit, the 36-year-old web designer says he is “deeply offended” by Chief Blair’s suggestion he tampered with the video prior to posting footage online.

“I did no such thing. These videos accurately reflect what I saw,” Mr. Bridge said.

In his affidavit, Mr. Bridge explains that as he was filming Mr. Nobody’s arrest, he stopped videotaping for about four seconds amid the chaos of advancing police officers. That brief pause explains the gap in the YouTube clip, which remained online Tuesday night.

There were no other revisions or editing, Mr. Bridge said, noting the final product accurately reflects what happened that day.

“During the time that I was not recording, I continuously viewed the incident and saw the officers tackle Mr. Nobody to the ground,” he said. “At no time did I see Mr. Nobody assault or attempt to assault any of the officers.”

A spokesman for the Toronto Police Service said Tuesday that because the Nobody case has been officially reopened, the service could not comment for the time being.

SIU spokesman Frank Phillips says none of the other five cases in which police were alleged to have injured civilians during the G20 are being reopened at this time. No charges were laid in any.

In Mr. Nobody’s case, the SIU is not questioning its findings on excessive force, but rather hoping to glean more information that could lead to charges against a specific officer, Mr. Phillips said.

“We don’t know what Mr. Bridge has. He may have other video. He may have stills. Maybe somebody said something or heard something,” Mr. Phillips said. “[He] may be able to shed some light on who the officer is.”

Mr. Nobody said Chief Blair’s comments have added “insult to what has already been an extremely difficult experience for me.”

His lawyer, Julian Falconer, said the chief’s allegations of video tampering have served to underscore a larger problem: the internal cone of silence surrounding police actions at the G20. During the SIU probe into Mr. Nobody’s case, two suspect officers exercised their rights to refuse to be interviewed, and no others came forward to point the finger.

In fact, the badge number provided by the arresting officer in Mr. Nobody’s case did not correspond to any officer involved in policing the G20, Mr. Falconer said. Assault charges against Mr. Nobody were ultimately withdrawn.

“In this case, it is not only the police won’t give an account of what happened. They won’t even admit they were there,” Mr. Falconer said. “These are not officers exercising the right to remain silent. These are officers trying to exercise a right to remain hidden.”